Pascal A

Al, I think that invoking the "executive decision" is at the core of the issue. If you want all your selections to count towards Seth's compiled Overall Top Ten Rankings, then your list needs to comply with the NY/LA Academy standard, since the intent of the overall ranked list is (or was) to compare HTF's choices with the Oscar winners.

If you want to put In the Mood for Love on your 2001 list, that is your prerogative, but it should not be mandated of everyone, anymore than people should be asked to remove Songs from the Second Floor or Dolce from their respective lists because they have not officially played in the US. The fact that people want to talk about In the Mood for Love already shows, at least in part, that some of my favorable comments about the film earlier this year reached a receptive audience, and I'm pleased with that.

If you are only interested in documenting your Top Ten list (like me) and are not particularly interested in comparing your list to the results of the Academy Awards then you should be able to use whatever standard works best for you. By invoking an "executive decision", the choice of a "whatever works for you" criteria, and the choice not to participate in the Overall Top Ten ranking are negated. For me, I had elected to opt out of the Overall Ranking list, so it does not matter what criteria I use. I only wanted to capture the highlights of my film viewing experience for 2000. Frankly, I wouldn't mind putting Decalogue on my 2000 list as well, since for most of us in the US, this was the first time that we were able to see this film on any format. At least, I tried to stay as close to a 2000 release date as possible.

This is my last statement on this topic as well. On topic, I will be catching Memento this weekend at the Angelika.

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Strictly Film School

Rich Malloy

We're not drafting the Treaty of Versailles here. This is just a friendly little poll that will hopefully stimulate some fun conversation. Don't you guys have bigger rhetorical battles to wage? Won't someone relent? Please?

It's not an issue of right or wrong to me. It's an issue of moving on. All I wanna know is do I include it on this year's list or next year's? Either way, I don't care, it's not important.

John Thomas

It's an issue of compromise and diplomacy, which Im afraid
isn't in large quantity around this board. That's why these
quarrels get started and alot of bickering is here.
Anyway.. we have one list for Best of 2000 with one view
of how movies should qualify for year and a 2001 list with
a differing view. All this is going to do is leave out
some movies such as In The Mood For Love...its not going
on my 2000 list!! Its not going on my 2001 list!! ME!
no ME! Whaa!!!

Sheesh.

Pascal A

I had erroneously envisioned that this HTF poll would resemble this more civilized world film poll at Senses of Cinema. (Note Brad Steven's citation of a 1928 Jean Renoir film). However, when I tried to explain the very loose "guidelines" used on the Senses poll, I ended up getting brusquely dismissed as selfish, stubborn, and immature. I didn't post my list for carbon dating, just information and discussion. This is not a question of relenting or conceding, but if that is what it takes, then fine. I was mistaken in my idea of what this HTF poll was supposed to represent. Please ignore my list.

Okay, I lied. This is my final post on this matter.

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Strictly Film School

Jason Whyte

"Fantasia 2000 then becomes a 1999 film.

Fantasia got several public displays that weren't for festivals starting with its NYC premiere Dec 17, 1999."

Whoops! Fixed that. That entire "by-title" list was copied from my Julia Stiles forum and I forgot to check that title.

You will get consistency from me, but also a unintentional mistake or two from time to time.

Thanks,

Jason

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AWESOME Movies Of The Week
jason-whyte@home.com
ICQ: 16733922
I Am Jack's DVD List

"All your Bjork and Leslie Bibb are belong to me!"

John Thomas

Recently viewed Wonder Boys; overall good; pulled it out in the last 30 minutes of the film. Slightly disappointed in Frances Mcdormand's performance, probably because her role was more of the 'straight man'. No paranoia as her mother role in Almost Famous or quirky habits as in Fargo. But I thought Michael Douglas better in this movie than in Traffic and Toby Maguire definately stole some scenes. It bumps Chicken Run off of my top 10 list ..mmm Katie Holmes; man JWhyte, you need to have a site dedicated to her instead!

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"You're going to wear the t-shirt of the band that's playing? Don't be that guy."

"PCU / Nerds are both on the release schedule for the first half of 2001." - from the Fox chat.

Edwin Pereyra

I saw Croupier last night but I was very tired to even fully appreciate it. I will leave it on my "To See" list and view it one more time.

Next Up: Girlfight

~Edwin

John Thomas

Received another batch 'o Flix in; tonight's movie was
The Contender. I found it to depend too much on
black-and-white, too much 'us versus them' which normally
I go for and would typically fit into a political film.
I don't think Joan Allen should've been nominated either.
But, Christian Slater in his 'supporting' role pulled off
a convincing wet-behind-the-ears representative, Gary Oldman
did his usual 'villain' role (he was good but not his best
performance by far) but Sam Elliot put a spark in an other
wise dull story. Personally, my favorite part was seeing
Jeff Bridges in a bowling alley (sortof) again.
No threat to my top 10 list .

Also spun The Whole Nine Yards; Matthew Perry
exceeded my expectations of just another 'Friends' cast
member. Didn't get into my top 10 but a fun movie, nevertheless.


Coming soon:
American Psycho

Edwin Pereyra

I'll get a chance to see Requiem For A Dream this weekend before anything else. I'm already making room in my top ten list for this one.

~Edwin

Seth Paxton

Sweet, blessed sanity.

Looks like Jason and I are on the same page at least now. I understand the concerns of how small foreign pics might get left out and his reasoning for his standards. Valid points for sure. And he has fixed his list to meet his standards.


Since I had already deemed the NY/LA 1-week standard (or other US, non-festival release I suppose) and people have tried to follow that (including me), here's my compromising suggestion.

For this thread consider the main list to be the Academy Best Picture standard (NY/LA), BUT feel free to also mention the list that meets YOUR standards (I would suggest that Jason's "public display, non-festival" be the one used, but that's up to you).

This way we have lists that are for certain a common comparison of the same grouping of films. AND some of you still get to give the nod to other films you consider to be from the same year.

The reason for this is to simply cut any confusion off for people who are trying to figure out if their stinkin film goes on the 1999,2000,2001 list. And it also allows other films to not get ignored.

The NY/LA list is NOT intended to exclude anyone (although it inherently will), but instead it is designed to appeal to the largest portion of the HTF, allows us as a group to compare to other critics lists, and allows us to compare to the Academy when they start talking best picture.

And for sanity's sake, once we hit Jan 2002 I'll start up a twin thread to this for Best of 2001 (NY/LA standard) as a subset to what Jason has going. That way no one will lose In the Mood for Love in the shuffle of the lists.

And Jason, Pascal, and Gary are more than welcome to stick lists in that thread if they can humor us long enough to pretend that some of the films we are mentioning are 2001 films, just to make the rest of us feel better.

I hope this is a solution that everyone can live with and we can go back to bashing Gladiator like we should be...oh, wait there's 30 threads on that already. (joking, really)

I haven't finshed the last page, but I haven't seen any comments about our "group" list vs the Academy outcome, etc. What does everyone think about how our total lists came out?

Seth Paxton

Just be prepared for depression. You've seen Dancer so you should be able to handle this. Burstyn will take you on a journey with a far more powerful effect than anything Traffic threw at you, with regards to addiction. Requiem is a lot closer to a "scared-straight" sort of film.